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Evans fastest again at final pre-season test

MW Arden’s Mitch Evans quickest on day two at Silverstone

The final pre-season test concluded in Silverstone today before the GP3 Series heads to Barcelona next month to kick start the 2012 season. The session got underway under dark clouds on a chilly morning at a slippery circuit which was declared wet at the start of the test. Maxim Zimin stepped into the Jenzer Motorsport and was fastest for the first hour until Tio Ellinas in his Marussia Manor Racing car took control of the timesheets. The morning test was eventful: five red flags occurred with several drivers getting caught out in the tricky conditions.

Antonio Felix Da Costa went top as the times continued to improve on a drying track as the drivers switched from wet tyres to slicks. Aaro Vainio then shot to P1 as the session was red flagged when Kotaro Sakurai spun off into the gravel. Ocean Racing Technology’s Robert Cregan suffered a technical issue when he was forced to stop on the circuit, giving a premature end to his morning test.

The position at the top of the timings then changed numerous times before Felix Da Costa regained his place back at the head of the standings. Conor Daly and Ellinas jumped up to P2 and P3 ahead of William Buller who was confirmed as driving for Carlin for 2012 this morning. David Fumanelli, Marlon Stockinger, Vainio, Daniel Abt, Matias Laine and Kevin Ceccon completed the top ten.

Following the one hour lunch break, it was the fastest man from day one, Mitch Evans who set the early pace in the afternoon. The New Zealander quickly improved on his best time from yesterday by a tenth of a second setting a lap of 1’50.150. Buller then made a trip into the gravel, thus causing a halt to proceedings. As the rest of the drivers concentrated on long runs and some pitstop practice, Laine had a quick, therefore a red flag arose. Within the final forty-five minutes, the rain began to lightly fall, as the session came to a close with Evans heading the pack again. Robert Visiou was a late addition to the top ten and went P2 in the dying stages ahead of Vainio, Fumanelli, Abt, Ellinas, Stockinger, Daly, Laine and Alex Brundle.

GP3 Series is next on track when the 2012 campaign begins at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on 11-13 May.

Morning session

Driver

Team

Laptime

Laps

1.

Antonio Felix Da Costa

Carlin

1:50.457

35

2.

Conor Daly

Lotus GP

1:50.561

24

3.

Tio Ellinas

Marussia Manor Racing

1:50.595

34

4.

William Buller

Carlin

1:50.655

26

5.

David Fumanelli

MW Arden

1:50.740

17

6.

Marlon Stockinger

Status Grand Prix

1:50.815

23

7.

Aaro Vainio

Lotus GP

1:50.886

25

8.

Daniel Abt

Lotus GP

1:50.915

22

9.

Matias Laine

MW Arden

1:51.069

17

10.

Kevin Ceccon

Ocean Racing Technology

1:51.072

22

11.

Patric Niederhauser

Jenzer Motorsport

1:51.376

30

12.

Alex Brundle

Carlin

1:51.400

35

13.

Mitch Evans

MW Arden

1:51.420

14

14.

Robert Visoiu

Jenzer Motorsport

1:51.857

24

15.

Tamas Pal Kiss

Atech CRS GP

1:51.909

25

16.

Fabiano Machado

Marussia Manor Racing

1:51.920

27

17.

Alice Powell

Status Grand Prix

1:51.974

34

18.

Dmitry Suranovich

Marussia Manor Racing

1:52.046

31

19.

Kotaro Sakurai

Status Grand Prix

1:52.085

25

20.

Antonio Spavone

Trident Racing

1:52.334

32

21.

John Wartique

Atech CRS GP

1:53.352

28

22.

Ethan Ringel

Atech CRS GP

1:54.160

32

23.

Robert Cregan

Ocean Racing Technology

1:54.632

14

24.

Vicky Piria

Trident Racing

1:55.488

30

25.

Carmen Jorda

Ocean Racing Technology

1:55.616

28

26.

Maxim Zimin

Jenzer Motorsport

1:59.432

11

Afternoon Session

Driver

Team

Laptime

Laps

1.

Mitch Evans

MW Arden

1:50.150

36

2.

Robert Visoiu

Jenzer Motorsport

1:50.662

30

3.

Aaro Vainio

Lotus GP

1:50.840

41

4.

David Fumanelli

MW Arden

1:50.908

36

5.

Daniel Abt

Lotus GP

1:51.133

45

6.

Tio Ellinas

Marussia Manor Racing

1:51.173

30

7.

Marlon Stockinger

Status Grand Prix

1:51.217

36

8.

Conor Daly

Lotus GP

1:51.253

35

9.

Matias Laine

MW Arden

1:51.423

33

10.

Alex Brundle

Carlin

1:51.439

44

11.

Maxim Zimin

Jenzer Motorsport

1:51.503

28

12.

William Buller

Carlin

1:51.538

23

13.

Tamas Pal Kiss

Atech CRS GP

1:51.627

31

14.

Antonio Felix Da Costa

Carlin

1:51.661

34

15.

Kevin Ceccon

Ocean Racing Technology

1:51.688

39

16.

Patric Niederhauser

Jenzer Motorsport

1:51.840

24

17.

Kotaro Sakurai

Status Grand Prix

1:51.920

36

18.

Antonio Spavone

Trident Racing

1:52.278

27

19.

Alice Powell

Status Grand Prix

1:52.299

43

20.

Fabiano Machado

Marussia Manor Racing

1:52.417

27

21.

Dmitry Suranovich

Marussia Manor Racing

1:52.713

35

22.

Robert Cregan

Ocean Racing Technology

1:52.817

26

23.

John Wartique

Atech CRS GP

1:53.015

27

24.

Ethan Ringel

Atech CRS GP

1:53.480

37

25.

Vicky Piria

Trident Racing

1:53.851

31

26.

Carmen Jorda

Ocean Racing Technology

1:55.248

33

source: GP3 Series

Three tests down. A whole season to look forward to.

The GP3 Series Championship is just around the corner, so this week’s third and final pre-season test at Silverstone (11 and 12 April) provided a much-welcomed opportunity for Marussia Manor Racing GP3’s all-new driver line-up to put their cars through their paces before it really starts to count.

Russia’s Dmitry Suranovich, Cypriot Tio Ellinas and Brazilian Fabiano Machado enjoyed good reliability and important mileage across the two days of running to prepare for the European season-opener in Barcelona next month.

Day one’s running began under heavy clouds and with cool temperatures. The drivers were keen to achieve some guaranteed dry running with rain predicted for the afternoon and it was Tio who threw down the gauntlet for Marussia Manor Racing GP3, occupying P3 for the morning session. The forecast rain lived up to its promise in the afternoon, during which Fabiano and Dmitry were able to improve their times regardless.

The start of day two began with the session being declared wet, with dark clouds prevailing and a slippery circuit. No fewer than five red flags occurred with several drivers getting caught out in the tricky conditions. Tio Ellinas spent the morning trading places at the top of the timesheets. As more rain started to fall before the end of the session, he took the chequered flag in 6th position with teammates Fabiano and Dmitry ending the day 20th and 21st respectively.

The GP3 Series 2012 campaign now begins at the Circuit de Catalunya on 11-13 May.

Tio Ellinas

“The tests have passed by so quickly but I’m really very happy with the positive progress. We continue to be strong and I am confident that we can carry this competitiveness through to the season. I’m very excited about the season-opener in Barcelona and about the season generally.”

Fabiano Machado

“After this final preparation I can’t wait to get the season underway next month in Spain. The field is going to be interesting this year and it will be important for us to start out as strong as we can.”

Dmitry Suranovich

“Another good test with a lot of progress made and I am happy that we are now prepared for the start of the season next month. It will be a very close-fought championship this year and I am happy to be in the fight.””

Pete Sliwinski, Team Principal

“With the final pre-season under our belts we are ready for the real action to start in Barcelona next month. All three drivers have gained some very positive mileage and experience to prepare them for what will be a tough but fascinating battle. Once again, Tio has done a particularly strong job but I know there is plenty more to come from the team and the drivers. From Spain onwards we’ll be racing alongside our parent, the Marussia F1 Team, and the interaction that provides the drivers with will be another valuable education for them. My thanks to everyone in the team for a great job so far. Now we just need to keep it coming.”

RESULTS

Day One – AM

Pos

Driver

Team

Laptime

Laps

3.

Tio Ellinas

Marussia Manor Racing

1:50.942

26

16.

Fabiano Machado

Marussia Manor Racing

1:53.422

33

17.

Dmitry Suranovich

Marussia Manor Racing

1:53.478

33

Day One – PM

6.

Tio Ellinas

Marussia Manor Racing

1:51.567

29

15.

Fabiano Machado

Marussia Manor Racing

1:52.187

25

18.

Dmitry Suranovich

Marussia Manor Racing

1:52.864

24

Day Two – AM

3.

Tio Ellinas

Marussia Manor Racing

1:50.595

34

16.

Fabiano Machado

Marussia Manor Racing

1:51.920

27

18.

Dmitry Suranovich

Marussia Manor Racing

1:52.046

31

Day Two – PM

6.

Tio Ellinas

Marussia Manor Racing

1:51.173

30

20.

Fabiano Machado

Marussia Manor Racing

1:52.417

27

21.

Dmitry Suranovich

Marussia Manor Racing

1:52.713

35

source: Marussia Manor Racing

Trident Racing positively rounds out pre-season testing

The final round of GP3 Series testing before the start of the 2012 season was completed today at Silverstone. The calendar is now set to feature the first race meeting of the year at Barcelona on the next 12th and 13th of May.

Trident Racing lined-up at the British venue with two cars for 2012 regular drivers Vicky Piria and Antonio Spavone. Both of them had the chance to familiarize with the circuit, which was unknown for both, as they logged a lot of laps in wet conditions.

The session has been heavily conditioned by the tough weather, as some quickly changing dry/wet conditions provided a difficult hurdle to handle for teams and drivers. For most of them, respecting the scheduled workplans became pretty difficult. Both Piria and Spavone performed well, and gained some great experience in any possible track condition.

After rounding out the final test of the pre-season, Trident Racing will focus on the preparations for the first round of 2012, starting in a three-week time at Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.

Antonio Spavone

“It’s been my first time at Silverstone and I had a pretty good first impression of it despite some tough parts to learn. I believe I accomplished a progressive improvement and gained some valuable experience for the round scheduled here in July. The test has been conditioned by rain, but I think that the feedback has been particularly good on the wet, we’ve always been close to the top-10. On dry conditions, there are still some aspect we need to work on, but I think that the right thing is to keep progressing without taking exaggerate risks. My feel with the car is getting better and better, and I can’t wait to be on-track for this season’s opener at Monza”.

Vicky Piria

“This test for me meant the first contact with the Silverstone track, and I spent the first half day in trying to make my way around the circuit. The variable weather conditions didn’t help me a lot in this process because the reference points kept changing. Today we improved under many aspects although the conditions were still tough and carrying a work program on has been challenging. I think we haven’t had a real chance to show our potential during this test, unlike happened at Barcelona, but the most important thing for us was to prepare ourselves for the firs race of the season!”.

source: tridentracing.it

FINAL PRE-SEASON GP3 TEST CONCLUDES AT SILVERSTONE

The GP3 series drivers – who have been equipped by Pirelli since 2010, one year before the renowned Italian firm started supplying Formula One – have had their final taste of the tyres that they will use before the season starts in Spain on May 12.

The 26 drivers all tested their identical Dallara cars for two days at Silverstone using the P Zero GP3 hard compound: the same tyre that was made available at the most recent test in Barcelona. The wet tyre was also brought to Silverstone in case of rain. Each car was allocated five sets of hard tyres and three sets of wet tyres for the two-day test.

Pirelli makes three compounds of 13-inch P Zero tyre for GP3 – hard, medium and soft – but only one is nominated for each race. There is also one type of wet weather tyre. During each race weekend every driver is provided with three sets of slick tyres and two sets of wet weather tyres (if they are needed).

Some typically British weather awaited the drivers on the opening day at Silverstone, with strong winds and rain at the end of the afternoon. In the morning, the teams concentrated on short runs of five to eight laps as they learned to warm up the tyres effectively in cold track temperatures – which can lead to graining if the warm-up process is not carried out properly.

General testing work continued in the afternoon, and although the majority of teams made a late switch to a wet-weather set-up, they were not finally able to run on the Pirelli GP3 rain tyre due to a red flag shortly before the session finished at 5pm.

New Zealander Mitch Evans set the fastest time for MW Arden, with a benchmark of 1m50.276s in the morning.

The drivers eventually got to use the wet tyre on the second day at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix and round four of the GP3 Series in July. Having started off with wet weather, the track began to dry out halfway through the morning, allowing drivers to move onto the hard tyre once more, in cloudy and windy conditions.

Temperatures rose in the afternoon, and teams carried out race simulations for the first time, as well as pit stop practice.

Once again it was Evans who was fastest on day two, with his time of 1m50.150s marking the quickest lap of the entire test.

Pirelli’s racing manager Mario Isola said: “It was clear to see that the GP3 drivers had fully taken on board all the lessons they had learned from the previous tests in Estoril and Barcelona, enabling them to maximise the potential of our tyres. This was especially evident in the way that they all handled the tyre warm-up process, which is one of the keys to extracting the best performance from the tyres at every level of racing. Despite the cool and challenging conditions of Silverstone, our GP3 tyres showed both durability and speed, with the hard compound delivering peak performance over approximately 15 laps before dropping off, as we have designed it to do. This will help the GP3 drivers to learn as much as possible about tyre management, which is an essential skill that they will need to progress their future careers. We’re pleased too that the drivers had the chance to try out the rain tyres as well for the first time this year, allowing them to experience a very wide range of conditions. Having gone from the wet tyre to the hard tyre they were able to generate plenty of performance and grip despite the changeable conditions.”

For the first race of the year in Barcelona, Pirelli’s hard compound tyre has been nominated. For the second race of the season in Monaco, the GP3 drivers will use the soft P Zero tyre.

source: pirelli.com

At Silverstone, Ocean Racing Technology is preparing for the first race of the GP3 Series

Ocean Racing Technology put the finishing touches on its preparations for the GP3 Series races which will be held in Barcelona on the weekend of May 11-13, and which will mark the Portuguese team’s start in the championship.

Kevin Ceccon joined Robert Cregan and Carmen Jorda, who had participated in the previous winter tests. They will all be representing Ocean Racing Technology in the 2012 GP3 Series championship. Kevin Ceccon had a remarkable start in the GP3 Series, finishing the Silverstone tests in the top 10 of the morning session, 6 tenths out from the absolute best time. The reigning AutoGP champion is satisfied with his first contact with the car and the team. “We did a good job and I think that the result exceeds our expectations,” Kevin Ceccon declared. “There is still work to do before the first race in Barcelona, but we are on the right track.”

After getting his bearings in Barcelona last month, Robert Cregan pointed out the progress made since the first tests. “I feel we are gradually making progress. It’s very good to be able to count on the help of Kevin, who is an experienced, fast driver. I keep adapting to the car and the circuits, and I think that the gap behind the leading cars is starting to get smaller. We had a chance to perform race and qualifying simulations, and I am very enthusiastic about the coming first races,” Robert Cregan explained.

Carmen Jorda, the Portuguese team’s female representative in the GP3 Series, also feels that these two days of testing were productive. “I think that we are advancing step by step. The team helped me a lot to get acclimated to this new championship, and I am determined to do my best. I am concern that I am a step behind but we have to keep working very hard to learn and improve every race,” the Spanish driver concluded.

For Tiago Monteiro, who accompanied his team at Silverstone, “These two days of work were intense. Kevin met our expectations; he showed that his experience was precious for this first contact with the car. Robert and Carmen are continuing to make forward progress. It is a new championship for the team and for its drivers, but I think that up to now the results have been positive.”